Hotel of What?
by Candygal
Summary: Gibbs needs a break from Kate and Tony so he sends them to a hotel for a week. How much work will actually get done with these two agents sharing a hotel room and is Abby right when she suspects there's more going on between them? TATE! Minor McAbby/Tibby
1. Playing Along pt1

**Author's Notes: **Okay so this is the redone and resubmitted version of this fic! I have extended and rewritten a lot of it and changed a few things around along with adding more detail. Also in the older version I wasn't utterly sure where it was going whilst now I am planning it ahead etc. If you've read the older version or not, I really hope y'all like this one and please review to let me know whatcha think! This fic is pure Tate, well...there is McAbby/Tibby as well :). If there is anything you'd like to see etc please let me know. I'm currently finishing chapter four and them moving on to chapter five so this fic will certainly not be "abandoned" because of lack of planing etc. I also made it more to character. I hope you like it. Anyhow...enjoy!!

* * *

**Chapter One: Playing Along pt1  
**  
'No Gibbs, please!' Kate continued to beg. 'You can't do this to me!'  
'To you?' Tony spoke for the first time since he heard the news almost fifteen minutes ago. 'I have to put up with you' he told Kate and walked into the second room of Abby's lab to where everyone was standing around near her desk.  
'Shut up, DiNozzo!' Kate hissed at him. 'Gibbs…' she turned back to him.  
'Kate' Gibbs sighed and could sense a headache coming on. He tried to reason with her but nothing he said could convince her that spending time in a hotel room with Tony was in anyway related to a good thing.  
'It's all ready, guys' Abby smiled from her desk.  
'This is not happening' Kate crossed her arms and frowned.  
'Which room did you get?' McGee asked Abby in interest as he stopped working on fixing her printer nearby and came over.  
'Room 807' Abby smiled proudly. 'It's got cable TV on a huge plasma screen, room service, a balcony…there is also a pool downstairs and access to a gym. Oh and did I mention the king-sized bed?' she smirked.  
'Wait, there isn't just one bed, is there?' Kate gasped and looked close to a mental breakdown.  
'Afraid so' Abby nodded but her smirk remained.  
'Tony can have the floor' Kate said. 'Because there is no way I'm sharing a bed with him'  
'Hey!' Tony yelled and came over to join the group. 'In a hotel room like that, I am not sleep on the floor'  
'There's carpet?' Abby shrugged but they hadn't heard her.  
'Well, I am certainly not sharing a bed with you!' Kate snapped back at him, placing her hands on her hips.  
'Then you take the floor, Katie' Tony said.  
'Don't call me that!'  
'Take the floor' Tony said again while everyone just watched in amusement, well except Gibbs, he was far from amused by this childish act of behavior from his federal agents.  
'No!' Kate yelled.  
'Yes!' Tony yelled back just as loudly.  
'NO way, DiNozzo!'  
'Yes way, Katie'  
'GIBBS!' Kate screamed and turned to him as if it was all his fault, which in a way it was.  
'What? It's only a week' Gibbs sighed while his ears felt numb. He sipped his coffee cup but wished it wasn't almost empty. He then glanced up as Kate and Tony had gone silent for a moment as they processed what he'd just said.  
'A week?' they gasped in unison.  
'Heh, they didn't know' Abby grinned at McGee.

* * *

Three hours later, McGee dropped them off at the luxurious five-star hotel and helped them get "settled" into their room.  
The three agents got into an elevator and McGee pressed the button for the eighth floor.  
'I have to spend a whole week, working with Kate?' Tony complained.  
'Like hell you'll be working' Kate replied with a frown. 'More like, watching TV, eating junk food and talking to the ladies'  
'Ohh, the ladies' Tony had a dreamy look on his face for a moment. 'Hey, careful Kate…that frown might stick that way' he said but was relieved as the elevator opened and they started walking to their room, which was halfway down the right hallway.  
'McGee, surely you can reason with Gibbs?' Kate pleaded but knew there was no way.  
'Oh yeah, Gibbs loves to listen to Probie' Tony teased.  
'We're here' McGee breathed in relief and took the earplugs out of his ears. He then made a mental note to thank Gibbs for advising he wore them while dropping Kate and Tony off.  
'Not bad, not bad at all' Tony commented as they entered the room and he looked around. 'Three rooms: the main for eating and TV…kind of like a living/dining room, then we have the bedroom and a bathroom…huh, the bathroom is the only room without a TV, sad' Tony said.  
'Did you say, one bathroom?' Kate panicked. 'DiNozzo!'  
'Hey, I didn't pick the room' he reminded her. 'Abby did'  
'Urgh!' Kate growled and stormed off into the bathroom and Tony winced in her direction.  
'You're settled, have fun' McGee said quickly and rushed from the room and back over to the elevator as he sensed Kate was going to let hell loose soon.  
There was silence in room 807 for a few minutes, and then Kate came sneaking back.  
'Is he gone?' she whispered and Tony checked.  
'Sure is, as fast as his Probie legs can carry him'  
'Good' Kate sighed. 'So what channels do we have?' she asked and took the remote out of Tony's hands but he didn't object. 'Woah' Kate gasped. 'Do we really need all of these?'  
'Beats me' Tony shrugged and picked up a menu on a nearby table. 'Room service, Kate?' he asked calmly.  
'Yeah. How about a Pizza with at least one healthy thing on it'  
'No Problema' Tony winked and called room service to order their Pizza and then joined Kate on the lounge where she was going through the list of channels. 'There a movie guild somewhere?' he asked and she passed it to him without taking her eyes of her own guild.  
'Did Abby say there was a pool downstairs?' Kate then remembered and put the TV channel guild on the coffee table.  
'Yep, we can go tomorrow' Tony replied. 'The bodyguard!' He smirked, reading over the titles.

After room service arrived and dropped off their pizza and drinks, the two agents made their way into the bedroom so they could watch TV. They both sat on the bed, using the wooden part and the wall for back support to make it more comfortable while they watched cable TV and ate pizza.  
'I think this will actually be fun' Kate smiled.  
'Oh yeah' Tony smirked back.

* * *

Kate was awoken the following Monday morning at around 8am to find her cell phone was ringing. She stretched and noticed that they had fallen asleep watching TV and that Tony had fallen onto the floor, which he was now asleep on the carpet.  
'Yeah. Todd?' She yawned as she answered her cell phone.  
'Everything okay?' Gibbs asked.  
'Sure…' Kate then realized she probably shouldn't sound so relaxed after one night with Tony. '…Because Tony ended up on the floor' she covered smartly and looked down at him, since it wasn't a lie.  
'What did you do?' Abby asked curiously, making it clear to Kate that she was on speakerphone.  
'Yeah, you really want to know?' Kate challenged, knowing Gibbs wouldn't.  
'Ye…' Abby started to say but Gibbs cut her off, just as Kate predicted.  
'No'  
Tony yawned and sat upright, looking very lost and confused as to his surroundings and why he was on the floor.  
'Ka-' he started to question her but she placed a hand over his mouth and the look on her face alone told him all he needed to know…Gibbs was on the phone.  
'And what do you plan to do today?' McGee asked.  
'Your jobs, hopefully' Gibbs growled.  
'It's a full time job Gibbs, working the files and keeping Tony away from the pool' Kate replied, she was good at this game…after all, she and Tony had been playing it for over a year. 'And I am going to go now before Tony wakes up and finds yet another stupid, juvenile thing to complain about. Bye' Kate did a Gibbs and hung up on them suddenly.  
'Funny' Tony yawned as Kate removed her hand from his mouth. 'Why am I on the floor?' he then asked. 'Not that the carpet wasn't comfy…'  
'What time are we planning on going to the pool?' Kate wondered, grabbing her suitcase in search of something to change into. 'And I would like a shower first, since I didn't get one last night'  
'Same. And sure…ladies first' Tony said, rubbing his head sleepily. 'We could go right after, and then head out for some breakfast?' he suggested as he got up from the floor to sit on the bed, still not fully awake.  
'Thanks. Sounds good to me' Kate sighed and grabbed her bikinis, which surprised him because he always pictured her as a bathing suit kinda gal.  
'My pleasure, Katie' Tony grinned.  
Kate gave him a glare in return and headed to the bathroom for a shower and to change.

--

After several minutes, Kate came back into the room in a pair of black bikinis. Her wet hair was out resting neatly on her shoulders as she patted it gently with a bath towel.  
'I didn't even know you owned a pair of bikinis' Tony smirked as he searched his bag for his swimming shorts.  
'Abby got them for my birthday' Kate replied.  
'Of course' Tony smirked and glanced up. 'I won't take long…ah' he tried to focus on her face, but her bikinis showed off every curve of her figure. There was the natural sexual attraction but he then glanced at her face and saw how beautiful she looked, which wasn't something he usually noticed in a woman, well…apart from Kate. Woman were supposed to be gorgeous, hot…sexy, attractive…not, beautiful.  
Kate finally noticed the attention she was getting and smiled with a hint of warning in her tone. 'Don't get used to this look, Tony. Now go have your shower…you might need one' she said and put the towel down to find her brush and a hair tie.  
Tony grabbed the stuff he needed and headed to the bathroom, wishing he didn't have to.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Okay that's the first chapter!! Oh and sorry it's a bit shorter than what I usually write but it's only because I had to break chapter 1 and 2 into two sperate chapters otherwise it would be too long as one chapter. Let me know what you all think of it so far! :) **

**-Mel**


	2. Playing Along pt2

**Author's Notes: **Thanks **ncisabbylover** for your review! I only got one review which is a little sad but better than none. Here is the next chapter and I'll put chapter three up in the next few days! Enjoy and please review! Also, sorry the scenes are a little short, it won't be like that forever.

**Chapter Two: Playing Along pt2  
**  
It was almost 10am when Tony and Kate made their way towards the pool. They walked along the wet sideline for a few minutes until Tony slipped and fell in.  
"Splash!"  
'Honestly, Tony' Kate rolled her eyes but couldn't help her laughter. She put her foot into the water to test the temperature as he resurfaced and splashed her.  
'The water's fine, come in Katie' he said.  
'Don't call me that, Tony' she frowned.  
'Whatcha gonna do about it?' Tony grinned and looked up at her.  
Kate glared for a moment but then bomb dived into the water next to him, splashing a lot of water in his face.  
'Not nice, Kate' he said, wiping water from his eyes as she resurfaced.  
'Whatcha gonna do about it?' Kate teased and splashed him again.  
'Oh, we're gonna be like that…are we?' he asked and splashed her back, enjoying a more playful side of Kate.  
Kate laughed and kept splashing him while he tried to defend himself. He was losing badly and he knew it, so he stopped splashing back and sunk underwater.  
As he came back up, he picked her up and dropped her gently back into the water with a smirk on his face.  
Kate came back up laughing, which was another thing that caught him by surprised, to see her enjoying herself this much around him.  
'Okay' she said. 'This is war!'

* * *

'We should check on them, McGee' Abby said, very worried about Tony and Kate.  
'Why?' McGee asked from under her desk, reconnecting several cords attached to her printer.  
'Why?' Abby asked in a less-than-calm tone. 'They are in danger of themselves! Who knows what Tony is up to'  
'Abby' McGee lifted his head to look at her. 'I'm sure they're fine'  
'They're not answering their phones' Abby said, her cell phone resting in her hand.  
'Okay, then they're out getting breakfast' McGee suggested but somehow doubted that.  
'They have room service, McGee! We need to check that they're okay' she said.  
'Abs-'  
'This is serious!' Abby yelled, cutting his sentence short.  
McGee stared at her determined expression and sighed heavily in defeat. 'I will go and check on them later, okay?'  
'Promise?'  
'Yes, I promise' McGee nodded and went back to work on her machine.  
'Good' Abby nodded. 'Because if Tony and Kate share a hotel room for a week…something is bound to happen; and if we can't stop it, then I at least want to know what it is!'  
'And by "we" you mean "me" right?' McGee asked, knowing he was going to be the one doing all the work.  
'Just fix my machine, McGee' Abby sighed.  
'I thought so' McGee nodded with a sigh.

* * *

After a huge breakfast, Kate and Tony relaxed in their hotel room for a few hours and then headed back to the pool.  
They didn't leave until almost 4pm later that afternoon.  
'I haven't had that much fun in a long time' Kate admitted as they finally got out of the pool.  
'Yeah, it was great' Tony agreed and grabbed his towel. 'We should do that again sometime'  
'Yeah' Kate shivered. She'd hung her towel over the balcony to dry in the morning but now she had forgotten it and was without a pool towel to keep her warm.  
Tony was about to wrap his own towel around himself when he noticed that Kate didn't have a towel. 'Where's yours?' he asked.  
'I left it hanging on the balcony' Kate sighed.  
'Heh, not me' he smiled as they headed back towards their hotel room. Once in the elevator, Kate shivered again and Tony gave up his towel. 'Here, I'm not cold' he lied and wrapped it around her shoulders.  
'Thanks' she smiled.  
They soon got back to their room and Kate went for a shower while Tony sat on the bed and thought about the day they'd had. He'd seen a new side of Kate and he really liked it, which was what worried him.  
'What a day' Kate said as she came back into the room with her we hair on her shoulders again. But she was dressed in a somewhat short black nightgown this time, which caught Tony's attention.  
'Ah yeah, I was just thinking that' he nodded. 'Another gift from Abby?' he questioned.  
'Obviously' Kate said  
'My turn' he said as he grabbed his shower stuff and headed towards the bathroom.  
'Help yourself' She smiled and turned towards the knock at the door. Kate forgot what she was wearing and just went over to open it.  
McGee did not know what to expect when he decided to go and check on them, but what he saw when Kate opened the door was not one of them.  
'Um…hey, Abby was going hysterical and insisted that I check up on you guys' He said a little nervously and Kate let him in while her mind raced for something to say. She needed someway to signal Tony in a way that wouldn't give away that they weren't actually fighting at all. She had to warn him before he said something.  
'Tony! McGee's here to check up on you!' Kate called to him.  
'What …oh, right … huh? Check on me!' Tony said loudly, picking up what she was warning him about. 'You're the one who needs supervision here, lady!' he came back into the room in boxers and a t-shirt.  
'Hey' McGee sighed to him.  
'We are fine adults Probie; we can handle it, okay? Tell Abby to stop stressing'  
'Although Tony's age is questionable' Kate added with practice.  
'Be nice, Katie' Tony growled at her.  
'Would you stop calling me that?' She snapped.  
'I'm going…bye' McGee sighed and noticed the case file boxes near one corner had not been touched at all, which made him wonder what they had been doing all day. But he decided to think about that later and left. He paused outside the door though and listened, getting an idea.  
Tony and Kate kept yelling for arguments sake, and then stopped.  
McGee gulped at the idea of being caught but stayed in hearing range and listened to what they said as they were still close to the door.  
'Whew, now that was close' Tony sighed. 'Damn Abby had to panic' he laughed.  
'In only a day as well…are we really that bad?' Kate wondered.  
'Obviously, but it is all fun' Tony sighed. 'You want more room service? I'm starving'  
'Yeah, but not a pizza this time'  
'Okay, you pick…anything you like' He smiled.  
'Such a gentlemen' She joked and rolled her eyes but looked at the menu.  
'Shall we have another movie night? Or straight to bed?' Tony wondered.  
'Well at least this time you won't fall on the floor, I guess we could just sl-' Kate yawned. '-Sleep tonight'  
'Sure, so you want the right or left side?' Tony stared at the large bed in interest.  
'Whichever' Kate sighed and pointed to her choice of dinner in the menu.  
McGee was shocked; he knew they are calling room service, so left quickly before he was busted. He rushed to the elevator and called Abby.  
'Well?' she answered in less than a second.  
'Oh, you're gonna love this' McGee replied, because Kate and Tony will not be the only ones playing this game anymore…

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**Author's Notes: A very short chapter, I know. Chapter 1 and 2 were meant to be one chapter but it would have been a little too long so I made them one. It's only the first two that are like this. It gets longer next chapter. I hope you like and if you read this please review and let me know whatcha think!**

**-Mel**

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	3. Suspicion and Something Else

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to my reviewers! Sorry for the delay, computer and internet chucked a fit on me. **Helen,** Spread the Tate-love :), here's the next chapter. **Shirik,** I did put spaces between the lines but for some reason it kept refusing to work. Annoying. So if it still doens't work, sorry but I can't fix it. **ncisabbylover**, I'm glad you love this chapter too! **Laura**, I'm certainly planning on adding more, got several more chapters already written. And in answer to your question: Kate and Tony are just best friends...for now. ;)**

* * *

**

**Chapter Three: Suspicion and…something else  
**  
Monday night, Tony and Kate had climbed into bed and practically fallen right to sleep, but since it was early, Tony found himself awake at 7am Tuesday morning.

'Rise and shine, Katie dear' Tony joked and tried to wake Kate up, as he was bored and if he had to be awake, so did she.

Kate grumbled in reply and rolled over, but refused to get up or even open her eyes.

'Come on! It's morning' he said in complaint.

'Leave me alone' She groaned half-asleep and being her usual stubborn self.

'Not gonna happen Katie dear' Tony grinned.

"Smack!" her hand came out of nowhere and hit him. She sat up suddenly and looked at him with a death glare.

'Do-not-call-me-that' She growled.

'Point taken' Tony nodded fearfully, not wanting to experience her wrath. But instead of hurting him, she just lay back down and closed her eyes again.

'Kate? Argh! Kate get up' Tony tried to get her up but was having no such luck. 'Don't make me drop you in the pool downstairs' he teased.

'You wouldn't dare' She grumbled.

'Wouldn't I?'

'No' She growled louder, very certain of herself.

'Okay maybe you're right…but, get up!' Tony complained. He took her blankets and pillows off her, but still no luck. He tried pushing her off the bed but she hit him painfully in the ribs. He tickled her feet and got kicked in the stomach. He called room service and tried to get her up with the delicious smell of breakfast but even that did not work. Tony was short on ideas that would not result in his death.

'Jeez, you're like sleeping beauty' He grumbled and then an idea came to him.

He leaned forward until he was inches from her lips and he kissed her then leaped back.

Kate's eyes flew opened and she sat up in shock. 'DiNozzo!' She yelled but he was hiding under the bed and using it as cover.

'Are you up?' He asked.

Kate glared and kicked him but did not lie back down.

* * *

'Okay so here's the footage from when you dropped them off' Abby said as she brought up the security footage that McGee had managed to get a copy of from the hotel.

'Are you sure about this Abby?' McGee tried to reason with her. 'I don't think that we should be doing this behind Gibbs's back' he whispered and finally understood Tony's paranoia of talking about Gibbs as he usually appeared whenever someone did.

'You can tell him' Abby shrugged and McGee didn't even have to consider than one. 'Nothing' Abby frowned at the footage.

'Well, I was with them' McGee replied and sighed. 'We are going to be in so much trouble' he muttered and typed on the keyboard fast. 'Okay, there they are here' he pointed to a section of the hallway where Tony and Kate were leaving their hotel room Monday morning, laughing the entire way. 'And then here' he showed the elevator trip, but neither said or did anything. 'Now this is the first floor, so…' he typed again and brought up the pool cameras as four sections, one in each corner of Abby's computer screen.

'The pool?' Abby noticed. 'Did she try to drown him?'

'Not exactly' McGee replied and pressed play and they watched in on the plasma as Ducky came in and joined them curiously.

'Is that…?' he raised an eyebrow as the three of them watched Kate and Tony's splashing match and then Tony picking Kate and up dropping her into the water again.

'Yeah' Abby smiled and went back to her keyboard as Tony and Kate left. 'Hm, so they go to breakfast and then their hotel room for a few hours. The camera picks them up again at 2:38pm as they're back at the pool' she said. '4:02pm they leave and…' she frowned and back tracked a few frames. 'Huh' she smiled and paused the image. 'Look at that' she pointed to Tony placing his towel over Kate's shoulders.

'So, she's cold?' McGee asked.

'That's not the point' Abby placed her hands on her hips.

'Then what is?' McGee wondered.

Ducky and Abby looked at each other and smiled before answering in unison. 'She let him!'

* * *

Kate had just changed into a pair of brown pants and a blue shirt and bushed her teeth after breakfast when her cell phone rang. She glanced at her watch and saw it was hardly part nine and prayed it wasn't Gibbs.

'Mmhm…Kate' she yawned and left the bathroom, noticing Tony was nowhere in sight.

'Hey Kate' Abby replied. 'I was just wondering if you and Tony are really fighting there, because we are suspicious and I am concerned for my best friend's health' she said rather calmly and tried to not sound too happy about it.

'What? Why on Earth do you think we're getting along Abby?' Kate asked as Tony came up behind her and covered her eyes with his hands. She slapped them away. 'I am on the phone, can't you see that Tony!' She yelled and Tony yelped.

'Trust me Abby we're not- DiNozzo!' Kate yelled and elbowed him, accidentally in the face as he was crouched a little. 'As I was saying, we're not doing too well… I am going to strangle him before this is over…how much longer?' She pleaded.

'Couple more days; I will talk soon, please don't kill him. Bye Kate…have fun' Abby said with a hint of tease, convinced nothing was going on…she hung up.

'Oh Tony I am so, so sorry!' Kate said and grabbed a tissue for his now-bleeding nose.

'I'm okay…I think' He mumbled.

'Tony I'm sorry' She said again, getting a little upset and feeling guilty as he was just mucking around and didn't know she had been talking to Abby.

Tony took the wet cloth that Kate had just retrieved from the bathroom and cleaned up his nose. 'Kate' He said after it was cleaned and the bleeding had stopped.

She looked at him, the guilt clear in her eyes. As much as she elbowed him on a daily basis, she usually had a good reason for it but this time it wasn't good enough to cause a bloody nose.

'It's okay, you got Abby off our backs' He tried to smile, but Kate looked devastated. Tony felt bad too, as he had actually been knocked backwards from the impact. He went and sat next to her on the bed.

'Hey? Cheer up, okay?' he said and patted her back. 'We need to plan what we are going to do today'  
She nodded and sighed, looking over at the untouched case files in the corner.

'We really should be working on those, Tony' she said.

'You're probably right' He frowned. 'But' he raised a finger and smiled. 'Later tonight, we can go to a party…Hey! How about a party? Tonight. There is one going on in the ballroom…we can go and talk to people, then come back here later, in time for more movies' Tony said.

'Okay, sounds alright…but that depends if you're attracting any woman that he lay eyes on or not'

'I can't, Gibbs said if I get a single new phone number, he'll shoot me' Tony said, worried at the thought.

'How would he know?'

'That is a mystery I have not yet solved…but I am not gonna to find out the hard way' Tony said and went to his suitcase to check he'd packed his nice, black suit. 'Never go anywhere without it' Tony explained as Kate looked at him questionably.

'Yeah, I suspected you'd do this, so I brought something along too' She said and had a look through her suitcase and pulled out a red dress. Tony took one look at it and froze; he would actually get to see Kate in that?

'Nice' He said and turned away; not believing his luck.

'Nice? That's all you have to say?' She grumbled as she was sure that a dress such as this one was bound to impress him.

'Well if I actually saw you in it…maybe I would have another opinion' He smiled.

Kate glared a little and placed her dress on a hanger, before putting it safely in the closet, where Tony hung his suit.

'Okay now…let's crack these files' Tony sighed and grabbed the first box, placing it on the table and then sat directly opposite Kate. 'I still don't understand why Gibbs sent us here to do these, surely we could have done it at our desks?

'Tony, we both know what happens when we have paperwork, you get bored…so I'm pretty sure that Gibbs just wanted us away from him while we work through this massive load' Kate said.

Tony thought for a minute and then nodded. 'Yeah, you're probably right'

* * *

'Do you know how to tie these things?' Tony asked, yanking his tie off his neck again. Kate peaked out of the bathroom and rolled her eyes.

'Why is it men can never tie one of those?' she sighed. 'And I have three older brothers' she replied, tying his bowtie properly and then adjusted it. She patted cheek and smiled teasingly before heading into the bathroom. She shut the door and locked it so she could change into her red dress.

'Regular ties I can handle, not these bow things' Tony frowned and because he was still fussing over his bowtie so he didn't notice Kate coming out of the bathroom many minutes later.

Kate stood there and waited but he still remained oblivious so she gave a light fake cough to get his attention.  
'Hey, do you-' Tony finally looked up and gasped as he paused at the sight of her. She had her stunning red dress on that went halfway past her knees and was tight but not too tight or slutty. Her brunette hair was tied up fancy. She had little make up on but it wasn't like she really needed it.

She was so beautiful, it was nothing he could really describe…he also had nothing else to compare it to that would even come as close to how wonderful she was looking right now.

'Well?' Kate asked hopefully and did a little twirl. 'Do I get more than a "nice" this time, Tony?' she asked, smiling at the shocked, blank look on his face as he stared at her.

'Wow' was the only form of speech that he could manage.

'You're not too bad yourself' Kate winked at his tux and smiled, then came over to fix his bowtie as his fussing had made it worst. 'You can stop staring now' she sighed, but Tony shook his head.

'Five more minutes' he gasped and realized what he had been missing out on, never had he imagined Kate to look so…stunning. Sure, he'd imagined her in much less and various other…outfits. But never did he realize that she was this beautiful!

* * *

It was almost 7:30pm when Tony and Kate entered the ballroom on the fifteenth floor. They walked through the doors and were amazed by the sight surrounding them. Kate thought it looked romantic with the lights and a band playing, while Tony thought it was just spectacular!

'Food!' Tony noticed the buffet table topped with every known meal you could name in the form of dinner, dessert or appetizer.

Kate sighed and decided to follow him, having no idea what she was supposed to do otherwise and it was easy to lose one person in such a crowded room of such size.

Tony packed several things onto his plate and glanced over to where Kate was sitting a meter away, looking a bit nervous but mostly bored. 'Want some?' he asked her.

'Not right now' Kate replied, shaking her head.

'Okay Tony said and got some chicken to add to his plate, suddenly he was feeling starving even after they'd had dinner merely an hour ago.

'Hey there, handsome' A blonde woman in a sparkling gold dress smiled as she stood next to him, running her hand up his arm and then played with his bowtie.

'Um, hi' Tony smiled as he looked her up and down. He then frowned a little and knew she was nowhere as beautiful as Kate; she looked…slutty? Had his mind just said that? This blonde was usually exactly what he found attractive, so why wasn't he the slightest interested in her?

Kate was watching and rolled her eyes, typical Tony; but his next words caught her off guard and she turned back to look at him in shock.

'I'm with someone' Tony added to the blonde and Kate's eyebrows shot right up. Did Tony just say no to a gorgeous woman? Why? She looked like his type…in a way.

'Really?' the blonde asked and looked around but then smiled confidently again. 'I don't believe you, and girlfriend or not-'

' Actually, she's my wife' Tony said without really thinking. He realized that he just wanted her to leave him to eat his food.

'Oh, wife?' the blonde looked again but still didn't see anyone; Kate was also mostly blocked by Tony as he reached for a piece of cake. 'Then where is she, huh?' the woman asked and lowered her hands until they fell onto his stomach, making his pause and looked at her, but mostly in annoyance.

Kate, seeing this, decided to help him out. Tony did look like he was hoping she'd come to his rescue and she would actually like to get that blonde's hands off him, although she couldn't figure out why.

'I think he would be referring to me' Kate said in a serious tone and walked over. She removed the blonde's hands from him and wrapped an arm around Tony while giving the woman a glare.

The blonde stared at them for a moment and then walked off angrily to go and find someone else.

'My hero' Tony smiled at Kate. 'Thanks' he nodded as she removed her hands and looked at his plate.

'You're not seriously going to eat all that are you?' she pulled a face of disgust, as not all of it was remotely healthy.

'What's wrong with my food?' Tony pulled a face and looked at his plate, seeing nothing wrong with it.

Kate just rolled her eyes and sighed, walking over to a table to watch the other guests while Tony ate. It was a really lovely party and normally she would just be relaxed to the sparkling surroundings but instead she had a moment of nerves. Kate looked at Tony and smiled, he really looked good in that tuxedo.

'Something in ma teeth?' he asked, noticing her stare.

'No' Kate shrugged and looked back around the room. Tony nodded and saw that his hand was inches from hers and how the light seemed to reflect against her necklace and earrings. He then felt a little nervous. His mind was telling him: _something was going to change between him and Kate tonight…_

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I'm not going to rush things, so i'm trying to pace thigns out a little...although they are only at the hotel for a little over a week so things are bound to happen soon. I'm sure a lot of you will love next chapter. Please review and lemme know whatcha think!  
-Mel

P.S: Also keep an eye out for my new NCIS fic "Nothing is Impossible" which should be up right now!


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